Technology

PizzaForno begins growing US presence in the shadow of Domino's home base

Is it possible for someone like an often insanely busy orthopedic surgeon to run a pizza business? One Michigan physician is not only proving it's possible, but profitable as well.

Each PizzaForno bake-and-vend unit holds 70 12-inch pies made fresh daily. (Photo provided)

July 2, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

At nearly 30 North American locations, automated pizza production brand, PizzaForno is clearly coming into its own as a pizza industry player here, just three years after Canadian entrepreneurs first brought the technology — that operates something like an artisan pizza vending machine — to Canada in 2018 from French company, SAS Adial. Today, there are already 28 PizzaForno units operating in Canada, but now, a pair of U.S. healthcare professionals-turned-pizza-industry-players are betting they can create that same kind of success state-side.

Orthopedic surgeon, Tim Epko and medical device executive, Adam Page, began operating PizzaForno outlets about an hour outside of Detroit, in Jackson, Michigan, this year. The entrepreneurs see the business as way to pull in a second source of income for each of them. Today, the pair say the venture is turning out to be a super-flexible business model that — for relatively little time and effort — allows them to operate multiple ovens in and around southern Michigan, where they already work in the medical profession.

In fact, Epko and Page said their medical careers has given them an inside look at the true need for something like PizzaForno as a meal option for insanely busy healthcare personnel, which the pair said is now something of a complete void. They said because PizzaForno units are both easy to situate in places like hospitals and that the machines deliver pizzas that can be either eaten on the spot as just-baked products, or taken home in refrigerated but fresh-made form, the products were a natural fit for the industry they each know best.

All of the PizzaForno pies the ovens bake are handmade and delivered to the machines to deliver as refrigerated or fresh-baked products. In fact, the ovens hold a total of 70 12-inch pies at a time and are replaced daily.

When customers order one of eight pie varieties, the fresh pizzas are moved robotically from refrigeration to a conveyor and into a convection oven to be baked. When complete, the pie is placed in a box and delivered to the customer.

If the pie is ordered refrigerated, it is simply boxed and delivered, skipping the fresh-baking process. Varieties run the gamut from everybody's favorite of pepperoni to more exotic offerings, as well as seasonal specials.

Epko and Page opened their first automated PizzaForno ovens in the U.S. this past March in Jackson, Michigan, near Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital. Another location will soon open about 45 minutes east of Jackson, in Ann Arbor, right in the shadow of pizza QSR powerhouse, Domino's, and its home base.

Pizza Marketplace spoke to Tim Epko recently about this path to pizza business ownership and how it's working out thus far.

PizzaForno pies are delivered to the customer boxed and hot or refrigerated. (Provided)

Q: Give us an idea of what your partnership with PizzaForno entails and even the type of income expectations you have for the first few years?
A:We have taken on the honor of being the first PizzaForno licensees in the United States. Within the first few years, our goal is to remain profitable while strategically scaling PizzaForno business here in the U.S.
While we currently have opportunities outside of Michigan, we have intentionally decided to keep our growth within the state. Over the next 12 months our team plans to invest roughly $15 million into the infrastructure that will allow rapid expansion in the U.S. market as a whole. (Editor's note:Epko did not delineate how that money would be spent or what investors were involved, if any.)

Q: What was it about the ovens that you two thought would make them viable business options, both inside and outside of healthcare-related locations?
A: First and foremost, the pizza tastes amazing! The ability to access hot food 24/7 was initially the most appealing thing about PizzaForno. Working in health care for the past 15 years, the hospital becomes your home away from home.

We realized deficiencies in access to food in facilities that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the limited options available. Immediately we knew this could be a viable solution to the problem. As medical professionals, we tend to be problem solvers and this was no different.

We also recognized that there was a need outside of the healthcare setting. ... We saw an opportunity to solve a common problem, in particular with consumers of pizza. There are very few late 24-hour pizza shops around, so again this solved a problem that we were able to identify.

Q: So are you planning to target other types of customers outside of healthcare professionals?
A:People from all walks of life, ethnicities and socioeconomic classes enjoy and consume pizza. The bigger picture is to provide a great-tasting product to our consumers.

While medical facilities and business groups may be good partners, the consumer is ultimately the focus and we plan to place PizzaForno ovens wherever there is a need or opportunity. We have had discussions with fortune 500 companies, as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for an amazing opportunity. We want you to think PizzaForno when you think pizza!

Q: Can you tell us more about planned PizzaForno growth globally?
A: Currently rolling out licensees in Canada and the US, PizzaForno will be announcing an international launch partner in September to include locations in Europe and South America.

Q: What kind of research and development went into the pies themselves and their varieties?
A:The initial eight PizzaForno varieties were developed in consultation with our French partner's culinary team using locally sourced ingredients including a proprietary par-baked crust, exclusive to PizzaForno. After eight months of culinary R & D, PizzaForno was unveiled to North American consumers at pizza festivals in Canada in 2018 to rave reviews.

Since then, a Toronto-based culinary team continues to develop and launch new varieties, such as our Holiday Special, Dessert Lovers and our newest hit, Summer Deluxe.

Q: What kind of role do you see automated pizza ovens playing in the pizza restaurant industry's future?
A: PizzaForno solves many of the current challenges faced by traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants (with) low labor requirements, a small real estate footprint (65-80 square feet), very low waste and speedy time to market (of) six weeks from signing agreement to grand opening.

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.